2022 XS650 Calendar VOTE HERE!

Which XS650s would you like to see in the 2022 XS650 Calendar?

  • jetmechmarty

    Votes: 32 37.6%
  • lewisjohn

    Votes: 39 45.9%
  • Adamc

    Votes: 44 51.8%
  • Rhy650

    Votes: 58 68.2%
  • BowlingSS

    Votes: 25 29.4%
  • SAFU

    Votes: 22 25.9%
  • kawabunga

    Votes: 32 37.6%
  • YAM277

    Votes: 16 18.8%
  • XsJosh

    Votes: 21 24.7%
  • Beags64

    Votes: 38 44.7%
  • nighthog

    Votes: 27 31.8%
  • GLJ

    Votes: 37 43.5%
  • HOTEL71

    Votes: 9 10.6%
  • RustiePyles

    Votes: 29 34.1%
  • crash_davis

    Votes: 18 21.2%
  • Bjorn

    Votes: 28 32.9%
  • Boopduke

    Votes: 15 17.6%
  • Thom

    Votes: 20 23.5%
  • Shipper

    Votes: 12 14.1%
  • whipbird

    Votes: 21 24.7%
  • NashGTI

    Votes: 24 28.2%

  • Total voters
    85
  • Poll closed .

Travis

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Vote for the XS650s you'd like to see in the 2022 XS650 Calendar!

2022 voting-banner.jpg


It's time to Vote!

This will be the tenth year for the XS650 Calendars! As usual, Shawn (samoran1) is putting them together for us. The nomination stage is over and there are 21 bikes to vote on this year. Click here to see the nomination thread.

This is the voting thread. There will be 13 bikes in the calendar (the calendar will include January 2023). The bike with the most votes will be on the cover and also have its own month. As in past years, each member is only allowed one bike per calendar, so members with more than one bike will have their bike with the highest number of votes in the calendar. Voting will end on October 10th. You can vote for as many bikes as you want (multiple selections allowed). You can only submit your votes once, and only existing members will be able to vote. Accounts created after the time of this post won't be able to vote.

Nominees, feel free to post more photos and details of your bike in this thread. If you want me to replace any of the photos in this post, let me know via private conversation. I used what was provided in the nomination thread. I will post up to two photos of each bike in this post. You can add more to this thread.

For the top 13: To get these calendars printed and shipped on time, samoran1 needs all of the pictures for the calendar by October 17th. Once the voting is underway, if you see you're doing well, get your pictures and information ready to send. You will need to send 3 or 4 high-quality photos of your bike with no logos or watermarks and your name, location, bike year/model, and SHORT bike bio via email to Shawn. There is more information about photos and other details in the nomination thread. Please review the notes about taking photos. You need to be the owner of the photos or have permission to use the photos for the calendar. In the event that people are unable to supply photos in time, the next runner-up will be included instead. So the close runners up (14, 15, and 16) may wish to have photos ready to send in.

After the voting is complete and the calendar is put together, a thread will be created with the final product and a link to an ordering page. There will be a limited time to order, so check back often for the ordering thread. A link to the ordering thread will be posted in this thread, as well as on the main page.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this calendar happen so far!

Here are the nominations. Vote using the poll above.

jetmechmarty
full

full


lewisjohn
full


Adamc
full

full


Rhy650
full

full


BowlingSS
full

full


SAFU
full


kawabunga
full

full


YAM277
full

full


XsJosh
full


Beags64
full


nighthog
full


GLJ
full

full


HOTEL71
full


RustiePyles
full

full


crash_davis
full


Bjorn
full


Boopduke
full

full


Thom
full


Shipper
full


whipbird
full

full


NashGTI
full

 
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Just a background on this bike. It's a 1980 XS650G Special II that was purchased by my Father In law new in1980 in Shawnee, Kansas. Sometime in 81-82 he removed the motor and painted it black and changed the exhaust but otherwise left the bike alone for the remaining 29 years. In the interim his daughter and I were involved with one another in some capacity as friends or dating on and off from about 1997 to 2010.
During that time I had a few XS650's myself and my future FIL and interacted frequently and became friends. Fast forward to 2010 my wife and I get Married, my Father in Law knowing that I'm a vintage motorcycle guy and an XS fan gifts us this bike as a wedding present. We hauled it to Norfolk, VA where we lived for the next three years while I was serving in the Navy. When we moved back to the MO/KAN area we ended up living approx 8 blocks from the now defunct dealership that my FIL originally purchased the bike at which was about 70 miles from where he lived at the time of purchase. So it has in essence returned home. I've done my best to maintain the bike while trying not to change it to radically but still make tasteful modifications. Happy Voting!
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The 7 year build!!! Not uncommon for most of us that have to juggle life and love of these beautiful bikes! I've owned the bike since 1985, when I found it abandoned in a pile of rubbish in the P.O.'s garage! That was a steal back then for the $500, that I paid for it.
I found this website about 10 years ago and drooled, like many of us! There is NO way, I could have completed the build, without the extensive help, knowledge and support from so many on this website!!!
I built it from the ground up, with no major mechanical skills. Yes, I had help welding and powder coating, but it was a lot of determination to get her to the finish line! And I still find myself going through all the topics, listed here, to get an improvement done. Many thanks to all the major players, who unselfishly give their knowledge and time to so many, that come searching for answers. Great Luck to all the dedicated this year on the calendar and all the years past, that make this website Awesome!!!
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I purchased this XS650SK new from Beach Yamaha New Smyrna Beach, FL in October 1983. I was a college student at the time and this immediately became my primary transportation for most of the next year. I have maintained continuous active registration on this bike since that time. With recent top end overhaul, it now has 60,000 miles on it.
 
I actually don't have a lot of pictures of my "completed" bike. I do have a build thread on the website here that goes over a lot of the work I've done.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/wherei...lf-and-also-other-things-with-the-bike.53373/

The picture up top is real close to how it sits today with the gauge housings now black instead of the faded red. The best pictures I think i have are from back before I did the pod filters and rewired the bike. The third picture here I have hanging poster size in my den.

Briefly, the bike is a 1972. The front forks and wheels appear to be from a TX750 and were there when i bought it. The seat is the dominate aspect of things visually, it's all handmade from steel and retains the original side hinge mechanism. The seat cover is vinyl and a combination of hand and machine sewing. Less obvious stuff are the fork brace, rear fender, handlebar, and the headlight/gauge mount that are all handmade pieces as well. The tank and seat pieces were painted to match with spraying clear coat on them being the only bit on the motorcycle i didn't do myself.

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I picked up this '79 as a sad, neglected and stripped of parts basket case. My goal was to bring it back to life and build a bike that not only looked good but functioned well as fun little ripper. I removed as much weight as I could and successfully shaved 70 pounds! I love ripping this bike around town, off-road, and using it for general hooliganing. I absolutely love riding it :)

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It was a roughie and more than 20 years in a shed had protected it a bit. When a couple of blokes got it started one of them said ‘the swamp monster lives’. Today I have a decal on the tail that says ‘Swamp Monster’ because the day the machine was restarted was the day I committed to getting the old bike back on the road.
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That’s why it would be great to see ‘Swampy’ in the 2022 calendar! :)
 
A little recap of how this bike got to where it is...

How Dad bought it:
upload_2021-10-7_12-38-45.jpeg


Where I picked it up:
upload_2021-10-7_12-40-2.jpeg


Where it ended up:
upload_2021-10-7_12-49-19.png


I wish you guys could see this thing up close. Dad had put such a level of detail into it, it was a hard act to follow... little things, like polishing and nickel-plating all of the prominent bolts. The whole thing shines.

I have had a blast building this bike and certainly appreciate all of the help that was provided to me. I would be absolutely tickled to have this in the calendar, and I know Dad would've been, too.
 

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A little recap of how this bike got to where it is...

How Dad bought it:
View attachment 199502

Where I picked it up:
View attachment 199503

Where it ended up:
View attachment 199505

I wish you guys could see this thing up close. Dad had put such a level of detail into it, it was a hard act to follow... little things, like polishing and nickel-plating all of the prominent bolts. The whole thing shines.

I have had a blast building this bike and certainly appreciate all of the help that was provided to me. I would be absolutely tickled to have this in the calendar, and I know Dad would've been, too.
I love this bike, it just looks right.
 
Good chance everyone who is going to vote already has, but I thought I'd add a couple more pictures that show things the wider shots don't.

20211008_122556.jpg 20211008_122752.jpg
You still almost have to zoom in on the pictures but this shows the tuning fork emblem made into the fork brace, and the XS2 block lettering relieved between the dials.
 
For those who are interested in mine, I bought it (eBay, of course) in September 2017 as an import from the US and it was worse than it looks here:
20170916_141244.jpg 20170917_113619.jpg

This is the result so far after last winter's work.
20210321_110519.jpg

It's a journey, there's more to do, and that's the fun. Hope you like it.
Cliff
 
I would like to thank everybody that voted for my XS2. I know it's not really a calendar girl in the normal sense of the word. I like pretty bikes as much as the rest of you. I also like a real bike that is actually ridden. My goal when getting my XS2 running again wasn't to make it pretty, it was to make it a dependable rider that I could ride anywhere. It would be clean enough to not make me ashamed of it and dependable enough to get me home.
 
I would like to thank everybody that voted for my XS2. I know it's not really a calendar girl in the normal sense of the word. I like pretty bikes as much as the rest of you. I also like a real bike that is actually ridden. My goal when getting my XS2 running again wasn't to make it pretty, it was to make it a dependable rider that I could ride anywhere. It would be clean enough to not make me ashamed of it and dependable enough to get me home.

Well deserved Greg! :thumbsup:
 
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